My Strange Reaction to "Earthlings: A Documentary"

So yesterday I decided, on a whim, to watched the documentary "Earthlings". Having been posted on Professor Johnson's blog since Thursday, the link to the documentary had the description "Powerful and disturbing (warning: graphic images of animal abuse)". I knew going in what the documentary was all about. I had already read both The Food Revloution by John Robbins and Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and watched PETA promotional videos on the fur and medical industries' abuse of animals. Yet somehow, I still managed to eat meat on a daily basis. Maybe I was immune to this kind of thing. All throughout my life, I was never really effected by disturbing images or accounts of brutality. I was one of the few kids in high school who could watch footage of the Holocaust without closing my eyes. For me, the most disturbing material was like watching a train wreck; again and again I would never looked away even though I was horrified by what I was seeing. Then, after reading or watching the accounts of brutality and abuse, I would always be fired up, wanting to bring justice to the victims and punish the offenders. Yet, after a couple of hours, I would forget about the whole thing. As sad as it was, I was always true.

The same thing occurred after watching the Earthlings" documentary. Throughout the program, I was aghast at the treatment of animals by humans. I would often turn my head away in shame and disgust; I did not want to be associated with my own species. For me, the most powerful and frightful images were of the dog being thrown into the garbage truck to be crushed to death and the killing of the cow in the supposed kosher factory. I was so sick to my stomach after about ten minutes of the film, but I forced myself to watch the whole thing. Upon finishing the documentary, I swore that I would never eat meat again or wear animal products. I went to dinner and ate a salad, while silently criticizing everyone around me eating meat.
Unfortunately, my animal rights crusade lasted less than twenty four hours. After rugby practice this afternoon, I went to dinner with my team and ordered a turkey sandwich. I had forgotten all about my pledge to stop eating meat. I know that I am a hypocrite, but eating the sandwich did not disturb me as much as I thought it would. Like many other times in my life, I had suppressed all of those horrible images I had seen not even a day before.

Upon reflection, I started to think about my actions and wondered if Nazis in Germany during WWII had the same reaction to the Holocaust that I did to the "Earthlings" documentary. Just like myself, they continuously participated in atrocities without expressing guilt or shame. Q: I began to wonder if it was part of human nature to detach oneself from situations in which humans commit inhumane crimes against each other and non humans?